Hello to all my friends around the world! I’m glad you’re learning English! To my teacher friends: Did you know using popular culture in your teaching may help motivate your students? (Perhaps you've already read this research article titled: "The use of popular culture as a stimulus to motivate secondary students' English learning in Hong Kong" by Professor CK Cheung at the University of Hong Kong. As you can see here on this Google Scholar page, the above research was published by Oxford University Press.) That’s why every month I invite teachers and students to travel with me on an educational, online field trip.
These past few months we’ve been visiting our friends in Argentina, and teaching English grammar and vocabulary with lessons using: classic movie tunes, songs from the Beatles, Broadway show tunes, and oldies from the café jukebox. Next month we’ll visit friends in Europe, to teach reading comprehension with pop music trivia. I hope you and your students will join us! You can email your teacher friends about our travels, by using my free, singing postcards. My favorite is All Shook Up! (Students, you can email your friends about our travels, too!)
Quote of the Day
This Day in History
Article of the Day
Elvis says . . . Sing your grammar lessons!
Posted by summer
Caption Central - Write a caption!
Ask your teacher to show you how to write a caption. If you learn at home, ask your mom or dad, or whomever takes care of you at home, to show you how to write a caption. Examples of imaginative captions are shown at the bottom right of this homepage in "Daily Slideshow: Beautiful Sunsets."
Then, write your own imaginative captions, and share aloud. [Tip: If you need help thinking of a descriptive English word for a caption, scroll down and use the "Translation Dictionary," below, to translate a word from your language to English. Then, use the "Audio Dictionary," also found below, to hear the English word.]
Three new images will need your captions tomorrow!
Posted by summer
Cooking State
The Newest Recipe Here! |
Or, click on a title of any recipe from the list titled "Your recipes." You choose which recipe you want to learn more about today!
After you read the recipe, write the ingredients on a list. Working with a classmate or independently, decide which category on this grocery shopping list chart is the correct category for each ingredient. Then create your shopping list. When you're finished writing your list, do a buddy-check with a classmate to check your answers, before your teacher checks your answers.
If you're in an English speaking country, bring your written list of ingredients when you shop for food. Then, write the name of the grocery store aisle or section where you actually found each ingredient. Did you know the correct category for each ingredient?
Practice these listing, categorizing and organizing skills again tomorrow, with a new recipe here. Now you're cooking!
Note to Teachers: Create your own ideas for ESL reading, speaking and writing activities by using recipes from the link above -- and the accompanying comments reviewing the recipe. And, remember: each month you'll find a NEW recipe posted!
Posted by summer
Building Art - Are you a poet?
Students, have you ever wanted to write a poem? People of all ages enjoy writing a Japanese form of poetry known as haiku. You, too, may enjoy writing haiku to build your creative writing portfolio.
Haiku is defined as: ...a brief verse which attempts to convey a feeling or experience through the use of images drawn from nature. Instead of merely stating a feeling, it says: "This is what I saw; perhaps it will rouse in you a feeling similar to mine when I experienced it."
The following poem is an example of haiku from Canada, written by Linda Pilarski, with a photo by her, and published in Daily Haiku:
To inspire you to write your own haiku, here is today's nature photo:
the photographer's description of this photo.)
Posted by summer
Museum Town: Ready to Research
Students, let's practice researching and reading for information. We'll research today’s masterpiece artist to find out:
Here is today's artist, and a famous painting by the artist:
To find out which museums you can visit to see this artist's work, look up the artist's name on this search site.
Did you discover which museums display today’s artist? Which of these museums is nearest your town? And, which museum, if any, displays this famous painting?
If none of the museums are close by to where you live, which of these online museums do you think might show this artist's work? Why do you think so?
Posted by summer
Comic Creators - Write a comic!
http://www.professorgarfield.org/starsleeper/comiccreator.html |
Special thanks to Jim Davis, creator of Garfield
More fun with comics:
Teachers, in addition to your own ideas to using comics to teach English, explore Grammarman, a site with comics for EFL/ESL students, and Awesome Comics, a webquest for ESL students. The creator is an ESL instructor and author in Thailand, Brian Boyd. Also, see The Comic Book Project, from Columbia University's Teacher College in New York.
Posted by summer
Writer's Way - Are you a writer?
Below are two essays written by students learning English...
Arrival by Kadi Musas
On our arrival at Heathrow airport, we met another couple who were also in the UK for the first time. None of us could speak or understand a single word of English. I started condemning my husband for the decision to come to England and shared these regrets and recriminations with the other couple. We all felt weak and vulnerable because we didn’t even know how to deal with the simple problem of getting out of the airport.
“Parlez-vous francais?” (Can you speak French?), asked my husband to one of the other passengers in the corridor but the man seemed to be on another planet.
We started to follow the arrows showing the way out, but we were uncertain about what was going to happen next. We were not even sure if we were going to get our luggage or not.
After a while, we noticed that everybody else had left the corridor and only the four of us were in that part of the airport. Luckily, I suddenly remembered I had my French-English dictionary in my handbag. I got it out and began to try to build some phrases in English for us to ask for help. However, my dictionary didn’t solve the problem. I was just met with vacant expressions. It was only when we met a man who could speak French that we got the help we all needed.
Once out of the airport, we met the person who was coming to pick us up. We got in the car and we were on the road for about two hours; as I looked out of the car window, everything was strange to me. I felt sick that night and went to bed without eating anything and feeling uncomfortable and confused about everything. I needed more than twelve months to recover from my sickness and depression.
Money by Robert Szewczyk
One of the good things about money is that money gives people confidence and an established life. People work hard to get a better future. That’s ok if they really think about their family and children’s needs. They should have time for family during the weekend.
Another good thing is that money can help other people who really need help, like those poverty stricken after disasters like flood, storm, terrorist attack, war etc. Even a little help can make a big difference if people come together to support charity.
One of the bad things is that people get sick from money. They become materialistic. They lose family and friends because they always want more and more.
Money is as well the main reason why we have war in our lives. Not only the big ones like World War II, but even small wars with our friends.
I think that a lot of the rich people are more unhappy than people who haven’t got a lot what will you do if you have everything already? Where will you have it all? No hopes? No dreams, no thought to make other people happy.
The best thing is to have money and a brain as well, to appreciate money and not be greedy. If not, we are losers.
Five Minutes of Fun
[Tip: If you want to listen to the English pronunciation of any of the words in the "Daily Proverb or Slang," scroll down on this site, and input the word into the "Audio Dictionary" below.]
Dictionaries
Audio Dictionary
Online Reference - Dictionary
Translation Dictionary
Video: "When I Become a Teacher" (Time: 1 minute, 39 seconds)
Visitors to Inspiration Lane
To All the Learners and Teachers Visiting Inspiration Lane...
...With love from Susan, the creator of this site, Inspiration Lane.
I'm a lifelong learner, and I'm proud to have been a Girl Scout.. I'm looking forward to becoming a published author of books!
Susan, Age 11, in her Girl Scout uniform. Long Island, New York